Emerging antimicrobial resistance and clinical relevance of Acinetobacter isolates in a tertiary care hospital of rural area of Punjab, India

Objective: To carry out a study on Acinetobacter isolates from various clinical samples in a tertiary care hospital in India. To evaluate the preva­lence of A. baumannii isolates, their antibiograms and clinical significance. Their contribution as causative agents of nosocomial infections has also been evaluated. Methods: The clinical specimens over a period of 12 months from January 2013 to December 2013 were analyzed and the A. baumannii isolates obtained were further studied. Their antibiograms were studied and a clinical correlation was made to assess their pathogenic status. Results: A. baumannii was isolated in 417 samples out of 2116 gram negative isolates (19.7% prevalence) from the entire hospital. Maximum isolates were from exudates & abscesses (41.5%) followed by respiratory secretions (28%). Overall resistance of A .baumannii towards carbapenems was 25.65% from all hospital isolates. ICU isolates showed higher resistance (62.6%) as compared to Inpatient Department (35.5%) and Out-patient Department (1.86%). Conclusions: In this study, A. baumannii isolates showed pathogenic potential, however a majority were found to be carbapenem sensitive. There was significant correlation between the carbapenem resistant strains isolated from the intensive care units, in-patient and out-patient departments of the hospital.